Just for some added context: I have played Cold Steel 1 and some of Trails from Zero. So when I say things like “the series gets better later”, those are the games I’m referring to.
For me the Trails series is part of the highest echelon the genre has to offer. Sky FC isn't an obvious part of this, as in fact, it took several attempts for me to finish it. Afterwards I got completely sucked in into this franchise. The characters, the overall story, the worldbuilding, the soundtracks... There isn't anything else in any kind of media as Trails. The battle system is also pretty basic at the beginning, but at the point of Cold Steel 3 it is the best turn-based system out there in my option and I'm very curious about the improvements of Trails into Daybreak, which will also blend in active time battle elements as well.
I agree with you. But I will say that Final Fantasy 14 (Once you get passed the base game of a Realm Reborn) can compete with Trails for world building, music, and writing.
Trails games age like good wine, maybe graphically is obvious Sky trilogy are old games ,but the writing, storytelling, plot etc are so solid that it still is perfectly enjoyable in 2024.
When you say the series doesnt get good until a few games in... I dunno you might be giving your advice a bit prematurely before you play the second game.
To me, these games are timeless. The attention to detail is just remarkable. My new favorite JRPG series of all time! Sorry, Final Fantasy, but you are now in second place. Still love you, haha 😄
started with the Daybreak demo and was like "uh whats this?" then i bought CS3 for Switch had to scratch the itch, then found out switch doesnt have CS 1 2 and some of the others so decided to play CS1 on PC, and now i bought a steam deck to play them all.... damn u falcom im totally fuckin hooked. ive seen alot of people bitching about how the pacing is. IMO i would rather grind a story then grind the same fucking mobs over and over again. I LOVE this series just pissed i found out about it way later.... but I have bought CS1 and 2 on steam and my deck will be here tomorrow im about halfway through CS1/3 and Daybreak so uh i guess im going to start with Sky.... just goes to show you how much i love the story in this series.
Yes. The answer is yes. As someone who started this game for the first time this past week it’s been amazing. There’s so much foreshadowing and little drips of intrigue and great NPC’s…it’s been great. Yeah it’s slow, but I like books. So…slow is not necessarily bad.
I love how in Sky FC, there are no unnamed/Generically named NPC characters until the final few scenes. Every character has a name, and a back story, and a mini story arc that they're dealing with while you're out braving the monster infested highway to go change a light bulb. Yes this is an actual side quest in the game, yes there are lore reasons why the road light bulbs are important for more than just providing light. I definitely recommend finding and reading the in game books, like Sky FC's Carnelia. Not only can the book collections be traded for the most powerful character specific weapons in the game (this is true of all Trails games to date), but many of them were inspired by 'true' stories in Zemuria so they can be used to tease or foreshadow characters or themes that might appear in future games. I think the Sidequests in Trails games are, generally pretty good. With very few exceptions they're almost always treated as mini side-stories. And in games that offer the ability to transfer save data (ex: Sky FC -> Sky SC), characters who's side quests that you complete will actually remember that you helped them out. Essentially allowing you to build a reputation. Sometimes, there are even story implications based on how many side missions you complete and how many BP (Bracer Points) or equivalent that you collect. The only ones that aren't usually tied to a side story are the monster exterminations. Usually there's only one per chapter and it involves fighting a tough mini-boss monster, so no need to worry about killing 5 sheep or what have you. Sometimes these monster extermination side-quests are used as plot hooks though so watch out for that. While I personally would suggest that Sky FC is the best entry point, I do think that Cold Steel 1 is, currently, the second best entry point (though that may change when we get Daybreak this year), though going back and playing Sky and Crossbell after Cold Steel 2 or 3 is a must if you don't want to miss out on a lot of the story references. Yeah, as a stand alone experience Sky FC is a little meh all things considered. The thing is, there's a reason why we in the fandom call it the 40 hour prologue; because Sky FC and Sky SC were originally supposed to be one game, and FC is quite literally the first chapter of Trails in the Sky. That's why the plot twist at the end of FC is almost a literal cliffhanger, the two games are designed to be played back to back to make a whole. Anyway, looking forwards to seeing the rest of the Trails reviews when you get around to them.
I decided to play the whole Trails series, but I knew going into Trails FC that it was a glacial game storywise, and that it's really just set up / prologue to the series. I decided to give it a chance, and if I bumped off it after 5 hours I'd quit. Well, 52 hours later, I'm starting Trails SC, and have already installed Trails 3. I also downloaded the Japanese voice dubs from the PSP releases, and modded them into the games on PC. It really helped with immersion!
lol yes good luck! Did you mod in the Japanese voice track? It's really easy and add so much character to the game. The youtuber Choops has a great tutorial.@@apoxfox
I started with Cold Steel 1 having NO knowledge that Sky and Zero exists. This was when Zero wasn't even localized yet and you had to buy a japanese copy and use fan translation lol. Imagine how shocked I was when I beat CS2 only to learn that 2 arcs existed prior to Cold Steel lol. Still an enjoyable experience to start with Cold Steel.
Which JRPG you guys can suggest as a starting point in the genre? I want something with a great story and not super long so I don't get bored with repetitiveness.
My two favorite JRPG’s are CrossCode and Persona 5. P5 is very long but it has the best Turn Based Combat. CrossCode is much shorter and it has action combat. I definitely recommend it! I’ve got reviews for both games on my channel if you need more convincing 😁
Even if all the games featured in most "TOP 10 RPGs" lists are stuff like Undertale, Persona 5, or SMT, I wouldn't recommend any of those as a first-timer (I do love me some persona though) as most of them require a basic understanding of how RPGs work. Final Fantasy games are usually praised for their stories, which are great, but most say that the gameplay isn't great. Most RPGs are 30-80 hours, so most RPGs, while having great stories and characters, probably wouldn't appeal to you. If I were you, not that I know you, but if you want a great story and a not super long game, I'd recommend the Mother series. Now, all three of the games are connected, but not in a way that if you haven't played Mother 1 (a.k.a. Earthbound Beginnings over here) , you wouldn't understand Mother 3. Not only are these games unusually short for an RPG (15-30 hr.), but they are also known for having great stories and nicely written characters, and if you ever get stuck, you have a small but helpful community to guide you. Choosing which of the trilogy to start with is tough, but most people advise against playing Mother 1 for the NES first, as it's a grindy and sort of buggy mess. Mother 2, or Earthbound, is probably the influence for most indie RPGs on the market, so if you haven't played that, give it a try. It is on SNES, Wii U, and Nintendo Switch as a part of Switch Online. MOTHER 3 for the GBA is...a doozy. If you already know about the issue with it, great, if not...Nintendo never translated the game to the West, people made a whole scene about it, and it's been a meme for ages. Follow a guide on how to download it and play it if you do not know how.* So...like I said, maybe you should try out the Mother series. Mother 1/Earthbound Beginnings is available on Wii U as well. *Like I said, mother 3 was never brought to the West, so if you do not know how to play it, here is a guide! How To Play Mother 3 In English! th-cam.com/video/yfQLMKW4kfE/w-d-xo.html&pp=ygUwaG93IHRvIGRvd25sb2FkIGFuZCBwbGF5IG1vdGhlciAzIGVubWdsaXNoIHBhdGNo This is the most recent guide, so I'd follow it, unless you'd like the 15 y/o ones. It's 2AM here, so goodnight! edit: I made a little mistake!
I agree with your assessment, as someone who is nearly done with Reverie: Trails is not for everyone, or even most people. Here's the test to see how it will rub you: at the end of Sky FC, do you know what the villains were actually trying to accomplish? The entire final act, before you arrive at the final dungeon, is a giant misdirection ploy. Trails never tells you that. You don't find out that Sky FC is the game where the villains won until you're well into Sky SC.
@darkrulierYou should thank him for saving you 80 hours of your life on a video game series that may or may not get good at the end of the second game.
@@KyleologyNobody asked him to spoil the game. I enjoyed myself and was able to beat first chapter is significantly less time. I have no idea how you managed to get 80 hours out of it.
Fc just means first chapter, so there’s trails in the sky “fc”, “sc” and “the third” So if the game just says “Trails in the Sky” it’s probably just FC
@@apoxfox ahh okay. I know there were ports so I thought maybe it was referring to a specific version. I should realized it was something more simple . Still not sure if I wanna play it. I’m always intrigued by jrpgs but never finish them.
Hmm… I seem to have a weird problem at the moment, I can’t decide if I want to play Trails in the sky first or Dead Cells or Crosscode or Risk of Rain 2
@@apoxfox I have put them all in a wishlist and plan to get each of them at some point in the future after I’m finished with Tears of the Kingdom and Persona 5 Royal & Cult of the Lamb. I just can’t decide which one I want to buy right now lol
Sorry but you are wrong, this series doesn't get good sveral games in, generally it gets very good on the second game of each arc, like sky fc is setup and sky sc is the payback, trails from zero is the setup and trails to azure is the payback, it isn't always like this but generally works like this, and if you have only played the games 1 of some arcs you aren't going to see this, I wold say that you are playing this games in the worst order possible, because you are getting all setup and no payback
Some people also really like the homey, low stakes "setup" games, and prefer them to the games that follow. But it does seem like for most people do like the payoff games more
I started late, I started with cold steel 1 then played 2 and so on until 4. Just beat the epilogue game and daybreak back to back. I’m not going through Crossbell games lol
Great video! I’d rate FC 8 out of 10. It reminds of an Anime called HunterxHunter. The first two seasons were slow and boring but if you stick around a you find out about the Phantom Troupe.
Shame. It does require an immense amount of patience to fully appreciate these games and it probably isn’t for everyone but for me it’s one of the best ever series i have ever played
As of now sky fc/1 is only on psp and steam. They will most likely release/remaster it for ps4/5 and switch but they haven't said when nor have they fully confirmed it. All games but the sky trilogy are on ps4/5 with some also on switch.
You can start at the beginning of any arc, really. If you really wanted to, you could even go back to the Legend of Heroes, or even the Dragon Slayer games that come before TiTS in this massive series. Hype for the remake!
![ลองสั่งของจากแอพ temu ถูกจริงหรอ?? ( part : 1/2 ) [โกงไหมครับ ep.89 ] | DOM](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/RTcZSQTiDZw/mqdefault.jpg)
![[ TEASER ] เงาะป่า - วงL.กฮ. | TMG RECORD](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/M4ObdFfcPww/mqdefault.jpg)
Just for some added context: I have played Cold Steel 1 and some of Trails from Zero. So when I say things like “the series gets better later”, those are the games I’m referring to.
For me the Trails series is part of the highest echelon the genre has to offer. Sky FC isn't an obvious part of this, as in fact, it took several attempts for me to finish it. Afterwards I got completely sucked in into this franchise. The characters, the overall story, the worldbuilding, the soundtracks... There isn't anything else in any kind of media as Trails. The battle system is also pretty basic at the beginning, but at the point of Cold Steel 3 it is the best turn-based system out there in my option and I'm very curious about the improvements of Trails into Daybreak, which will also blend in active time battle elements as well.
I’m very excited to keep going with it! Sky SC is already such a huge improvement
I agree with you. But I will say that Final Fantasy 14 (Once you get passed the base game of a Realm Reborn) can compete with Trails for world building, music, and writing.
Trails games age like good wine, maybe graphically is obvious Sky trilogy are old games ,but the writing, storytelling, plot etc are so solid that it still is perfectly enjoyable in 2024.
When you say the series doesnt get good until a few games in... I dunno you might be giving your advice a bit prematurely before you play the second game.
You’re right my mistake, I should have mentioned I’ve played through cold steel 1 and some of Trails from Zero so I know a bit about the future games
@@apoxfox FC & SC are basically 2 halves of the same game, and FC crawls so that SC might run.
To me, these games are timeless. The attention to detail is just remarkable. My new favorite JRPG series of all time! Sorry, Final Fantasy, but you are now in second place. Still love you, haha 😄
started with the Daybreak demo and was like "uh whats this?" then i bought CS3 for Switch had to scratch the itch, then found out switch doesnt have CS 1 2 and some of the others so decided to play CS1 on PC, and now i bought a steam deck to play them all.... damn u falcom im totally fuckin hooked. ive seen alot of people bitching about how the pacing is. IMO i would rather grind a story then grind the same fucking mobs over and over again. I LOVE this series just pissed i found out about it way later.... but I have bought CS1 and 2 on steam and my deck will be here tomorrow im about halfway through CS1/3 and Daybreak so uh i guess im going to start with Sky.... just goes to show you how much i love the story in this series.
@papasears1982 nice 1 hope you have a great time its an amazing journey 😁
Yes. The answer is yes. As someone who started this game for the first time this past week it’s been amazing. There’s so much foreshadowing and little drips of intrigue and great NPC’s…it’s been great. Yeah it’s slow, but I like books. So…slow is not necessarily bad.
I love how in Sky FC, there are no unnamed/Generically named NPC characters until the final few scenes. Every character has a name, and a back story, and a mini story arc that they're dealing with while you're out braving the monster infested highway to go change a light bulb. Yes this is an actual side quest in the game, yes there are lore reasons why the road light bulbs are important for more than just providing light.
I definitely recommend finding and reading the in game books, like Sky FC's Carnelia. Not only can the book collections be traded for the most powerful character specific weapons in the game (this is true of all Trails games to date), but many of them were inspired by 'true' stories in Zemuria so they can be used to tease or foreshadow characters or themes that might appear in future games.
I think the Sidequests in Trails games are, generally pretty good. With very few exceptions they're almost always treated as mini side-stories. And in games that offer the ability to transfer save data (ex: Sky FC -> Sky SC), characters who's side quests that you complete will actually remember that you helped them out. Essentially allowing you to build a reputation. Sometimes, there are even story implications based on how many side missions you complete and how many BP (Bracer Points) or equivalent that you collect.
The only ones that aren't usually tied to a side story are the monster exterminations. Usually there's only one per chapter and it involves fighting a tough mini-boss monster, so no need to worry about killing 5 sheep or what have you. Sometimes these monster extermination side-quests are used as plot hooks though so watch out for that.
While I personally would suggest that Sky FC is the best entry point, I do think that Cold Steel 1 is, currently, the second best entry point (though that may change when we get Daybreak this year), though going back and playing Sky and Crossbell after Cold Steel 2 or 3 is a must if you don't want to miss out on a lot of the story references.
Yeah, as a stand alone experience Sky FC is a little meh all things considered. The thing is, there's a reason why we in the fandom call it the 40 hour prologue; because Sky FC and Sky SC were originally supposed to be one game, and FC is quite literally the first chapter of Trails in the Sky. That's why the plot twist at the end of FC is almost a literal cliffhanger, the two games are designed to be played back to back to make a whole.
Anyway, looking forwards to seeing the rest of the Trails reviews when you get around to them.
I decided to play the whole Trails series, but I knew going into Trails FC that it was a glacial game storywise, and that it's really just set up / prologue to the series. I decided to give it a chance, and if I bumped off it after 5 hours I'd quit. Well, 52 hours later, I'm starting Trails SC, and have already installed Trails 3. I also downloaded the Japanese voice dubs from the PSP releases, and modded them into the games on PC. It really helped with immersion!
Awesome! So glad you're back into Trails. I wish us both luck on our journey through these games
lol yes good luck! Did you mod in the Japanese voice track? It's really easy and add so much character to the game. The youtuber Choops has a great tutorial.@@apoxfox
The dub is from the PSVita releases. And those weren't done by Falcom themselves (but they got the rights of the dub anyways).
I started with Cold Steel 1 having NO knowledge that Sky and Zero exists. This was when Zero wasn't even localized yet and you had to buy a japanese copy and use fan translation lol. Imagine how shocked I was when I beat CS2 only to learn that 2 arcs existed prior to Cold Steel lol. Still an enjoyable experience to start with Cold Steel.
Which JRPG you guys can suggest as a starting point in the genre? I want something with a great story and not super long so I don't get bored with repetitiveness.
My two favorite JRPG’s are CrossCode and Persona 5. P5 is very long but it has the best Turn Based Combat. CrossCode is much shorter and it has action combat. I definitely recommend it! I’ve got reviews for both games on my channel if you need more convincing 😁
Even if all the games featured in most "TOP 10 RPGs" lists are stuff like Undertale, Persona 5, or SMT, I wouldn't recommend any of those as a first-timer (I do love me some persona though) as most of them require a basic understanding of how RPGs work. Final Fantasy games are usually praised for their stories, which are great, but most say that the gameplay isn't great. Most RPGs are 30-80 hours, so most RPGs, while having great stories and characters, probably wouldn't appeal to you. If I were you, not that I know you, but if you want a great story and a not super long game, I'd recommend the Mother series. Now, all three of the games are connected, but not in a way that if you haven't played Mother 1 (a.k.a. Earthbound Beginnings over here) , you wouldn't understand Mother 3. Not only are these games unusually short for an RPG (15-30 hr.), but they are also known for having great stories and nicely written characters, and if you ever get stuck, you have a small but helpful community to guide you. Choosing which of the trilogy to start with is tough, but most people advise against playing Mother 1 for the NES first, as it's a grindy and sort of buggy mess. Mother 2, or Earthbound, is probably the influence for most indie RPGs on the market, so if you haven't played that, give it a try. It is on SNES, Wii U, and Nintendo Switch as a part of Switch Online. MOTHER 3 for the GBA is...a doozy. If you already know about the issue with it, great, if not...Nintendo never translated the game to the West, people made a whole scene about it, and it's been a meme for ages. Follow a guide on how to download it and play it if you do not know how.* So...like I said, maybe you should try out the Mother series.
Mother 1/Earthbound Beginnings is available on Wii U as well.
*Like I said, mother 3 was never brought to the West, so if you do not know how to play it, here is a guide!
How To Play Mother 3 In English! th-cam.com/video/yfQLMKW4kfE/w-d-xo.html&pp=ygUwaG93IHRvIGRvd25sb2FkIGFuZCBwbGF5IG1vdGhlciAzIGVubWdsaXNoIHBhdGNo
This is the most recent guide, so I'd follow it, unless you'd like the 15 y/o ones.
It's 2AM here, so goodnight!
edit: I made a little mistake!
Chrono Trigger. Laser-focused narrative, beatable in 25 hours or maybe a little longer if you want to do all the side content.
I agree with your assessment, as someone who is nearly done with Reverie: Trails is not for everyone, or even most people. Here's the test to see how it will rub you: at the end of Sky FC, do you know what the villains were actually trying to accomplish? The entire final act, before you arrive at the final dungeon, is a giant misdirection ploy. Trails never tells you that. You don't find out that Sky FC is the game where the villains won until you're well into Sky SC.
@darkrulierYou should thank him for saving you 80 hours of your life on a video game series that may or may not get good at the end of the second game.
I mean, it DOES tell you that, just the player needs to pay attention to the details that are present through the game.
It doesn't tell you outright.
@@KyleologyNobody asked him to spoil the game. I enjoyed myself and was able to beat first chapter is significantly less time. I have no idea how you managed to get 80 hours out of it.
Im caught up on One Piece, i think i can handle a little video game.
And here I am still in the Alabasta arc 😓
@@apoxfox oh man you gotta catch up it’s been sooo good this past two years n keeps getting better
@@apoxfox Oh you got to catch up ASAP
And... The remake will coming in 2025 🎉🎉🎉
What does the FC mean? I’m figuring out if I wanna give this a try but the game never has in the title when I look it up.
Fc just means first chapter, so there’s trails in the sky “fc”, “sc” and “the third”
So if the game just says “Trails in the Sky” it’s probably just FC
@@apoxfox ahh okay. I know there were ports so I thought maybe it was referring to a specific version. I should realized it was something more simple . Still not sure if I wanna play it. I’m always intrigued by jrpgs but never finish them.
Hmm… I seem to have a weird problem at the moment, I can’t decide if I want to play Trails in the sky first or Dead Cells or Crosscode or Risk of Rain 2
That’s quite the lineup, honestly they are all great but CrossCode is by far my favorite
@@apoxfox I have put them all in a wishlist and plan to get each of them at some point in the future after I’m finished with Tears of the Kingdom and Persona 5 Royal & Cult of the Lamb.
I just can’t decide which one I want to buy right now lol
Master Roshii = Hot Teacher... Yeah that stands up
Sorry but you are wrong, this series doesn't get good sveral games in, generally it gets very good on the second game of each arc, like sky fc is setup and sky sc is the payback, trails from zero is the setup and trails to azure is the payback, it isn't always like this but generally works like this, and if you have only played the games 1 of some arcs you aren't going to see this, I wold say that you are playing this games in the worst order possible, because you are getting all setup and no payback
Some people also really like the homey, low stakes "setup" games, and prefer them to the games that follow. But it does seem like for most people do like the payoff games more
This video was really helpful.
I started late, I started with cold steel 1 then played 2 and so on until 4. Just beat the epilogue game and daybreak back to back. I’m not going through Crossbell games lol
Such a shame you didn’t start with Sky FC and the crossbell arc is actually very good!
Great video! I’d rate FC 8 out of 10. It reminds of an Anime called HunterxHunter. The first two seasons were slow and boring but if you stick around a you find out about the Phantom Troupe.
Love HunterxHunter!
Sky one like cold one are building the world. Second games pick up very fast
If you're asking the question, these games probably are not for you. They certainly weren't for me.
Shame. It does require an immense amount of patience to fully appreciate these games and it probably isn’t for everyone but for me it’s one of the best ever series i have ever played
what console for this game?
As of now sky fc/1 is only on psp and steam.
They will most likely release/remaster it for ps4/5 and switch but they haven't said when nor have they fully confirmed it.
All games but the sky trilogy are on ps4/5 with some also on switch.
You can start at the beginning of any arc, really. If you really wanted to, you could even go back to the Legend of Heroes, or even the Dragon Slayer games that come before TiTS in this massive series. Hype for the remake!
If you are referring to any arc as in starting after the sky trilogy, that’s a big no no